State secondary school principals in Mauritius are struggling to address the learner discipline problem successfully. They have limited authority since all decisions concerning school matters are taken by the Ministry of Education and Human Resources, Tertiary Education and Scientific Research and imposed on them to implement. This constitutes a major barrier for principals to manage learner discipline effectively. This paper examines the leadership qualities that they must have in order to become an effective leader of learner discipline management. The literature on leadership is reviewed and analysed in the context of learner discipline. The paper concludes by stating that state secondary school principal should rethink their leadership in a holistic and collaborative manner.
Keywords: Effective Leader., Leadership Qualities, Learner Discipline Management, State Secondary School Principals